[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] Your Mouth Overrides Your Thoughts - Dr. Larry Ollison
Eric Calhoun
eric at pmpmail.com
Mon Mar 19 19:44:29 UTC 2012
Original Message:
From: "thefamilyoffaith" <TheFamilyofFaith at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>,
<INTERCESSORS-ALLNATIONS at yahoogroups.com>,
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Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] Your Mouth Overrides Your Thoughts - Dr.
Larry Ollison
Date:
Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:00:56 -0400
Your Mouth Overrides Your Thoughts
by Dr. Larry Ollison
Many years ago, a man approached me after a meeting and told me an
amazing story. He said he had molested several young boys in this
particular town and was having an affair with another woman. This man was a
notable man in the community so he had to be very discrete. He said that
the porn store even stayed open late just for him, so he wouldn't be found
out. Also, he was upset because his doctor told him he had an incurable,
sexually transmitted, deadly disease.
Two things were very amazing about this encounter. First, this was the
man who had invited me to speak at the meeting; and secondly, when I asked
him how all this got started, he said it was because he started thinking
perverted thoughts. When I asked him why he continued thinking these
perverted thoughts, he said he couldn't help it. He said he just couldn't
control what he thought. In fact he asked me, "Why did God let me think
those thoughts anyway?"
Even though this man had gone to church most of his life, he didn't know
the Word of God. God did not cause him to think perverted thoughts. He
thought them himself. The Bible says we control our thoughts. Hosea 4:6
says "My people perish for a lack of knowledge." This man was a good
example.
The point is this. The battle of faith is fought in the mind and wrong
thinking can keep you from having all that God wants you to have.
Philippians 4:8 says, "Whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things
are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and
if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things."
Here the Bible tells us clearly what to dwell on. If it was impossible,
we would not have been told what to think.
We, as Christians, cannot only control our thoughts, but we must renew
our minds daily. We can meditate on the things of the world or we can
meditate on the things of God. The choice is ours. We have no excuse.
Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God."
We must daily renew our minds. As Christians, we can purify our thoughts
and be made more acceptable to Jesus. According to the Bible, this can be
done through thinking about and meditating on the Word.
In Ephesians 5:26, we are told that this is accomplished by the washing
of the Word. This means that we not only can, but must renew our minds
daily by reading and meditating on the Word of God. Some say they just
can't control their thoughts. They say they can't meditate on the Word of
God because too many bad thoughts come in.
If that describes you, I encourage you to try this experiment. Count
mentally to twenty, silently to yourself. Now say your complete name out
loud while you are counting. Did you notice that you quit counting in your
mind to speak your name with your mouth? The reason is that your mouth will
override your thoughts. So when you feel you can't control what you're
thinking, just read the Word of God out loud. Your ears will hear the Word
and your mind will be washed, plus you will quit thinking what you
shouldn't be thinking about.
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